He added: "Becks came in the changing room and he was talking about his trip.

"He told us about the experience he had going over there and what is was really like. He said the lads do a great job for us."

The FA gave 1,000 tickets to troops and their families for the Mexico game at Wembley - and Beckham joined the team on the pitch after the match to thank them for their support.

Rio added: "It is great that we are getting support from the boys in Afghanistan. With them being so far away they probably think we don't really care about what is going on, but we do."

Becks, who is vice president and ambassador of England's World Cup 2018 bid, met and chatted to troops in Afghanistan during his three-day tour. He told them: "I think you guys have done an amazing thing."

After the trip, he said: "The whole experience here has been unbelievable. It really has opened my mind to what Afghanistan is like."